The first short story
Nov. 16th, 2006 09:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
r_scribblesFor The Katie - Al & Beth Calavicci
8th May 1976:
The girl looked up at Al as he paced.
'So, whaddaya do? For a living, I mean?'
Al scatched at his ear. 'Stuff. Just... generic stuff. Used to be in the Navy.'
'Used to be...?' echoed the girl.
'Yeah,' sighed Al. 'After I finally got out of that damn POW Camp in 'Nam they kept offering me promotion after promotion.' He took a suck of his cigar. 'Told those jerks they could stick them where the sun didn't shine, I wasn't ever gonna leave my wife like that again. Got outta the forces faster than you can say Jack Robinson. I got enough crazy stories to last me a lifetime, now I want to concentrate on making sure I got kids to tell 'em to.'
'You were MIA?' asked the girl.
'For years and years. Bastards told Beth I was dead. She nearly remarried.' He took another puff. 'Coulda lost her for good.'
'But you didn't,'replied the girl.
'No.' Al smiled strangely. 'Do you believe in Angels, Miss?'
The girl shrugged. 'Not sure. I believe in God, though. I believe he works for good every day, in even the smallest of ways.'
'Atta girl,' grinned Al. 'It's real, I tell ya. It's all real. There are Angels, all around, watching over us. Take it from a reformed cynic. It was an Angel whispered in my Beth's ear that I was still alive, see.' He cocked an eyebrow at the girl's strange smile. 'You think I'm nuts, don'tcha?'
'You really shouldn't smoke in a hospital,' replied the girl.
Al gave the girl a Look. She was a pretty little thing, Peurto Rican, around 20. If he wasn't happily married he could have quite cheerfully made a play for a girl like that. Besides that, there was something about her that made him instantly warm to her. And she was the best driver he'd ever seen, of course.
'It's traditional,' he told her. 'Besides, I'm a little nervous.'
'Hey. I didn't drive forty miles Hell-For-Leather for you to blow smoke in the kid's face.'
Al looked into her stern eyes and crumbled. 'Fine.' He ground the cigar out.
'Mr Calavicci?'
Al span round at the sound of his name. The doctor was at the door. He looked calm, but then Doctors always did.
'Your wife is fine,' said the doctor, 'and you have a healthy baby daughter.'
Al audibly exhaled in relief. Strangely enough, so did the girl waiting with him.
'You're lucky this young lady got you all to the hospital as fast as she did, though,' continued the Doctor, 'there were some complications. If your wife had been much later getting medical attention we could have lost them both.'
Al and the doctor both looked at the girl. She shrugged modestly. 'I'm... uh... I'm a nursing student,' she explained. 'I was passing by, I could see you'd blown a tyre and I could tell your wife was going into labor. From the way she was holding herself it looked like she was in trouble, so I broke a couple of speed limits.'
'Miss,' gasped Al, 'you have no idea how grateful I am to you...'
The girl smiled strangely once more. 'Don't thank me. Thank your Angel.'
And then he saw it. He'd seen it before, and never thought he'd ever see it again. It was over in a blink, and it didn't seem that anybody else had noticed it. That heavenly light, as if the girl's soul was being extended, stretched out of her body, and when it was gone her eyes were different. She was a stranger again.
'Oh,' breathed Al. 'Oh God, thankyou.'
'What?' said the girl.
'Do you want to see your daughter, Mr Calavicci?' asked the doctor.
Al nodded, dumbstruck. The tears had started to slide down his cheeks.
'Your wife said that if it was a girl you wanted to call her Trudy, but...'
A thought was planted in Al's head, as bright and sudden as lightning. 'Sam,' he croaked. 'I wanna call her Sam. Samantha, I guess. Don't ask me why, I just...'
'That's strange,' said the doctor, 'that's what I was about to say. Your wife has already stated that she wants the baby to be called Samantha, only she doesn't know why.'
The girl got up, shakily, as though she didn't know what she was doing there.
'I'm gonna... where's my car?'
'It happened again,' breathed Al, 'thank you. Whoever you are, thank you so much.' He gave the cross pendant he always wore around his neck a quick kiss and went in to see his family.
8th May 1976:
The girl looked up at Al as he paced.
'So, whaddaya do? For a living, I mean?'
Al scatched at his ear. 'Stuff. Just... generic stuff. Used to be in the Navy.'
'Used to be...?' echoed the girl.
'Yeah,' sighed Al. 'After I finally got out of that damn POW Camp in 'Nam they kept offering me promotion after promotion.' He took a suck of his cigar. 'Told those jerks they could stick them where the sun didn't shine, I wasn't ever gonna leave my wife like that again. Got outta the forces faster than you can say Jack Robinson. I got enough crazy stories to last me a lifetime, now I want to concentrate on making sure I got kids to tell 'em to.'
'You were MIA?' asked the girl.
'For years and years. Bastards told Beth I was dead. She nearly remarried.' He took another puff. 'Coulda lost her for good.'
'But you didn't,'replied the girl.
'No.' Al smiled strangely. 'Do you believe in Angels, Miss?'
The girl shrugged. 'Not sure. I believe in God, though. I believe he works for good every day, in even the smallest of ways.'
'Atta girl,' grinned Al. 'It's real, I tell ya. It's all real. There are Angels, all around, watching over us. Take it from a reformed cynic. It was an Angel whispered in my Beth's ear that I was still alive, see.' He cocked an eyebrow at the girl's strange smile. 'You think I'm nuts, don'tcha?'
'You really shouldn't smoke in a hospital,' replied the girl.
Al gave the girl a Look. She was a pretty little thing, Peurto Rican, around 20. If he wasn't happily married he could have quite cheerfully made a play for a girl like that. Besides that, there was something about her that made him instantly warm to her. And she was the best driver he'd ever seen, of course.
'It's traditional,' he told her. 'Besides, I'm a little nervous.'
'Hey. I didn't drive forty miles Hell-For-Leather for you to blow smoke in the kid's face.'
Al looked into her stern eyes and crumbled. 'Fine.' He ground the cigar out.
'Mr Calavicci?'
Al span round at the sound of his name. The doctor was at the door. He looked calm, but then Doctors always did.
'Your wife is fine,' said the doctor, 'and you have a healthy baby daughter.'
Al audibly exhaled in relief. Strangely enough, so did the girl waiting with him.
'You're lucky this young lady got you all to the hospital as fast as she did, though,' continued the Doctor, 'there were some complications. If your wife had been much later getting medical attention we could have lost them both.'
Al and the doctor both looked at the girl. She shrugged modestly. 'I'm... uh... I'm a nursing student,' she explained. 'I was passing by, I could see you'd blown a tyre and I could tell your wife was going into labor. From the way she was holding herself it looked like she was in trouble, so I broke a couple of speed limits.'
'Miss,' gasped Al, 'you have no idea how grateful I am to you...'
The girl smiled strangely once more. 'Don't thank me. Thank your Angel.'
And then he saw it. He'd seen it before, and never thought he'd ever see it again. It was over in a blink, and it didn't seem that anybody else had noticed it. That heavenly light, as if the girl's soul was being extended, stretched out of her body, and when it was gone her eyes were different. She was a stranger again.
'Oh,' breathed Al. 'Oh God, thankyou.'
'What?' said the girl.
'Do you want to see your daughter, Mr Calavicci?' asked the doctor.
Al nodded, dumbstruck. The tears had started to slide down his cheeks.
'Your wife said that if it was a girl you wanted to call her Trudy, but...'
A thought was planted in Al's head, as bright and sudden as lightning. 'Sam,' he croaked. 'I wanna call her Sam. Samantha, I guess. Don't ask me why, I just...'
'That's strange,' said the doctor, 'that's what I was about to say. Your wife has already stated that she wants the baby to be called Samantha, only she doesn't know why.'
The girl got up, shakily, as though she didn't know what she was doing there.
'I'm gonna... where's my car?'
'It happened again,' breathed Al, 'thank you. Whoever you are, thank you so much.' He gave the cross pendant he always wore around his neck a quick kiss and went in to see his family.
